We don’t need to tell you that our for-profit utilities here in California have been putting profits over people for decades. The vast majority of Bay Area residents have first-hand experience of the business practices that have lead to steep rate hikes, blackouts and inconsistent service, and disastrous wildfires claiming the homes and livelihoods of thousands.
Since 2021, average electricity prices for families in the U.S. have been raised nearly 31%. 27% of surveyed Americans reported struggling to pay utility bills – or keeping their homes at unsafe temperatures due to the cost of energy. As climate change creates more extreme weather patterns, we can’t afford to allow these trends to continue. As we struggle, PG&E’s profits are getting even higher.
The time has come to stand up to monopoly utilities and recognize our collective power to push against business as usual.
This bill, authored by Senator Wahab, would fund a feasibility study to determine what form of not-for-profit utility would best serve Californians and the planet, and then develop a roadmap for how to successfully transition away from for-profit models! It was co-developed with the Reclaim Our Power Coalition and the Center for Biological Diversity.
In the short term, it would offer crucial relief to Californians facing energy hardship and hold IOUs to a higher standard.
It would:
On Thursday, April 24th, our coalition, Reclaim Our Power, is co-hosting this statewide Day of Action with the powerful grassroots group Stop PG&E (Check them out on Facebook!) and taking our demands to the capitol.
The day itself starts off with the opportunity to either make public comment at the CPUC meeting or meet with your representative to educate them about some important utility justice bills – including SB 332, the Investor-Owned Utility Accountability Act!
The day will then continue with a march to the capitol and a powerful rally!
Register below to get more information, and help us make plans for carpools and representative meetings!
If PG&E cannot meet those requirements, it’s time to create utilities that serve the public, not just shareholders.
Our voices are our power – and we want to make sure yours are heard. We’re launching a form to collect stories of your experiences with PG&E, the big and the small, the frustrating and the devastating. Have you been impacted by rate hikes and steep energy bills, blackouts, or wildfires? Have you had issues with poor service or poor communication from the utility? We want to hear about it. By gathering these first-hand experiences, we can learn and share about the breadth and depth of impacts faced by our community and show the need for utility justice in the Bay Area.
